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Wednesday, January 8, 2014

January Goals and My Not So Triumphant Return to the Gym

As usual, I have so much whirling around my brain that I don't even know where to start with this post. I guess I just have to begin... isn't that such a problem sometimes? Just getting started?

I decided to start off the year with a small set of goals for January, none of which are weight related. I have an idea of what I want to lose, but I'm keeping that little demon bottled up for now so I can focus on behaviors instead of outcomes. Because behaviors are what lead to outcomes, right?

Back in August, I tore my calf muscle, and it just never healed right. I suppose it doesn't help that a month after I injured it, I walked upwards of 16k steps a day for ten days in Italy. I also kept trying to lift heavy, which was not doing me any favors. I finally had an MRI done (no tears, everything intact), and a bone scan (hello benign bone lesion!), and finally 6 weeks of physical therapy. I'll be honest -- I was dreading PT. I thought it was going to be a complete waste of my time, but I ended up being pleasantly surprised. Each visit started with 15 minutes of heat therapy, then ultrasound therapy, then 20 minutes of calf massage. I actually fell asleep a couple times it was so relaxing! The exercises were simple, but I could quickly see how they were helping to strenthen not just my calf muscle but the entire knee joint support. I am continuing to do some of these at home to further my rehab.

Yesterday marked the first day I set foot in a gym in about 3 months. It was time to get back on the horse. I decided to do some light cardio to see how my calf would hold up, so I chose 15 minutes on the elliptical and 15 minutes of walking. My calf was pretty much done with the elliptical after that amount of time, BUT no pain. I'll take it! The part I was disappointed in is that I could only manage the elliptical on level 2. Knowing what my fitness level was just last August, this was a bitter pill to swallow. But that's on me. I can get there again.

7 comments:

Hang in there! The important part is that you're back in the gym! More power to you!

That's a hefty number of workouts though -- don't burn out.. my view is that 3-4 a week is plenty. Just make sure your goal is realistic and sustainable. Think about just planning for 3 per week. Then you can give yourself major props for making your goal, and even more props if you exceed it.